Conventional plumbing fixtures, especially faucet spouts, are designed with internal flow passages which are large enough to be easily manufactured and to provide sufficient "excess" flow capacity as may be needed for certain uses. Further, a sufficiently large flow passage throughout the spout length reduces the probability of the spout plugging up over the years owing to internal deposition of dirt, scale, and the like.
Usually, the excess flow capacity of a spout is not initially required when the spout is new and free of internal dirt and scale deposition. Further, such excess flow capacity is not required for many normal uses. Thus, in typical installations, it may be desirable to have a "built-in" reduction in the flow rate capacity that functions continuously and independently of any valve control. This may be desirable where, for example, children or other people may routinely open a faucet valve to its maximum, wide-open, position even though the resulting maximum flow rate is excessive and wasteful.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a means for controlling (and especially, reducing) flow through a spout on a continuous basis in a manner that does not require, or even permit, routine adjustment by the user.
Some types of approaches to designing bathrooms, spas, and other facilities in which water discharge spouts are employed have as one of their objectives the creation of a sleek, clean-lined appearance. The desired sleek appearance typically extends to fixtures, including water discharge spouts. With such design approaches, there is a need to provide discharge spouts that have aesthetically pleasing configurations and surfaces which show no, or very few, mechanical elements or features that would interrupt the design and create a negative visual impact. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a spout with the above-described flow control feature in a way that would eliminate or reduce the visual impact of such a feature on the overall spout design.
Notwithstanding the desirability of "hiding" a flow control feature on a spout, it would also be advantageous to include such a feature in a manner such that the flow control components would be readily accessible for service from time to time. Such service may be needed to clean, repair, or replace the flow control components.